Christina helps businesses manage risk by ensuring appropriate insurance coverage, advocating to maximize coverage in the event of an insured loss, and suing insurers when they refuse to provide coverage.

Overview

Christina represents businesses in disputes with their insurance companies. Christina assists businesses with claims under all types of commercial insurance policies, including property and business interruption, commercial general liability, product recall and contamination, directors and officers, employment practices and professional liability, pollution liability, and cyber. Christina has more than a decade of experience helping businesses navigate complex insurance disputes. Christina has also served as insurance counsel for creditors' committees in nine mass tort bankruptcies arising from clergy sexual abuse, recovering more than $250 million in insurance proceeds.

Christina also regularly advises businesses during policy placement and at renewal. Christina drafts insurance, indemnity and other risk-transfer provisions in contracts, including for leases, loans, development agreements and construction contracts. Christina regularly represents financial institutions, property developers, commercial real estate investors, landlords, tenants, contractors and REITs. Christina also assists with insurance review for M&A transactions.

Christina joined the firm after clerking for the Honorable John W. Lungstrum of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.

Experience

  • Represented a commercial real estate owner in securing recovery on a $20 million+ claim for fire-related losses to a large shopping center set ablaze during the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd, Jr.
  • Successful representation of financial services client in claim against cyber insurers arising from ransomware attack and data breach involving theft of customer confidential information and resulting class action litigation
  • Helped secure more than $250 million in insurance proceeds for hundreds of clergy sexual abuse claims as insurance coverage counsel to the Unsecured Creditors' Committees in the bankruptcies of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the Diocese of Duluth, the Diocese of New Ulm, the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, and the Archdiocese of Agaña in Guam. Christina has also served as insurance counsel for the creditors' committees for the Diocese of Syracuse, New York and the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Developed and applied models to allocate exposure among more than a dozen insurers over a period spanning 70+ years. Recovered evidence of missing policies in two bankruptcies providing additional potential assets of $100+ million. Negotiated settlements with insurers and terms of bankruptcy reorganization acceptable to the debtors, the insurers, affiliated non-bankrupt entities, creditors and the court. Negotiated a joint plan of reorganization first of its kind in a Diocesan bankruptcy to preserve rights of the Diocese and its creditors to insurance assets from a non-settling insurer after plan confirmation, and to provide a pathway to post-confirmation litigation of creditors' claims
  • Insurance trial counsel for the Unsecured Creditors' Committee for the bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of Agaña during a multi-week trial over the plan of reorganization filed by the Boy Scouts of America, before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
  • Successfully prosecuted a lawsuit against a commercial property insurer on behalf of a chain of pawn shops for property damage caused by civil unrest precipitated by the murder of George Floyd, Jr., in a case involving the appropriate number of policy deductibles for incidents of civil unrest and rioting
  • Successful resolution of two lawsuits for employer's liability and general liability insurance coverage arising out of multiple explosion-related bodily injury lawsuits against energy industry clients
  • Secured recovery of COVID-19 related business income losses for client under commercial property policy's communicable disease coverage grant
  • Successfully prosecuted lawsuit for hail damage to 35 buildings at residential complex on behalf of property owner
  • Successful resolution of $25 million property insurance loss resulting from fire
  • Successful prosecution and resolution of lawsuit against property insurer for losses to construction materials at jobsite
  • Successful resolution of multimillion dollar business interruption insurance claim arising from a mass shooting
  • Successful representation of multiple food manufacturers that secured millions of dollars in recoveries under product contamination/recall insurance policies for losses arising from pathogen contamination
  • Successful recovery of more than $1 million from property insurer that failed to honor bank's loss payee rights with respect to damages from microburst
  • Advised REIT in securing two $5 million+ recoveries from property insurers as a result of fire and flood-related losses
  • Successful resolution of $5 million property insurance claim resulting from structural collapse
  • Represented large Kansas City company in obtaining $31.3 million verdict for misappropriation of trade secrets
  • Obtained summary judgment, affirmed by the Eighth Circuit, on breach of contract claim by former bank executive for not paying a "golden parachute" payment
  • Argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on claim arising under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution

News & Insights

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, Sound Advice, "Business Interruption Coverage for Ransomware Attacks and Data Breaches," Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, American Bar Association, April 2023

Program Chair and Panelist, "Lifting the Bar: Negotiating Coverage for Sexual Abuse Claims and Navigating Bankruptcy Resulting From Statute of Limitations Legislation," ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Seminar, Tucson, AZ, March 2020

"Recurring Issues in Establishing and Valuing Business Interruption Claims," paper for ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Seminar, Tucson, AZ, March 2017

Program Chair and Panelist, "It's All About the Benjamins: How Policyholders Can Work with Brokers, Claims Consultants, and Insurers to Minimize Delay and Maximize Recovery for Complex Property and Business Interruption Losses," ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Seminar, Tucson, AZ, March 2017

Women Corporate Directors, Kansas City Chapter D&O Insurance and Indemnification, May 2016

Selected Insurance Issues Relevant in Commercial Lending, July 2015

Business Liability Insurance Basics: Scope and Recurring Issues, January 2015

Publications

"Civil Unrest Insurance Coverage: Fundamental Issues," LexisNexis Practical Guidance, February 2022

"Lifting the Bar: Negotiating Coverage for Sexual Abuse Claims and Navigating Bankruptcy Resulting From Statute of Limitations Legislation," paper for ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Seminar, Tucson, AZ, March 2020

"Force Majeure and the Coronavirus (COVID-19)," Stinson's Government Contracting Blog, March 2020

"Proving Lost Business Income for Manufacturers Without Clearly Identifiable Lost Sales," published in ABA's Coverage Magazine, Spring 2018

Recognitions

Recognitions

Ingram's 40 Under Forty, 2023

Missouri Lawyers Weekly Up & Coming Attorneys List, 2022

Benchmark Litigation's 40 & Under List, 2018-2023

Selected to the Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers Rising Star list, 2015-2019

Professional & Civic Activities

Professional & Civic Activities

Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Fellow, 2023

International Relations Council Board of Directors, 2020-present

Jackson County Children's Emergency Fund Executive Board, 2011-present

  • Chair, 2015-present

American Bar Association

  • Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, Co-Chair of 2024 Annual Meeting

Ross T. Roberts Inn of Court, Barrister, 2011-2012

Admissions

  • Missouri, 2009
  • Kansas, 2010
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Education

University of Kansas, J.D., 2009

  • Order of the Coif
  • Kansas Law Review, Note and Comment Editor
  • Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement
  • Moot Court Council, advanced to international round of the European Law Students International Trade Moot Court Competition in Taipei

William Jewell College, B.A., magna cum laude, History and Political Science, 2006

  • Oxford Scholar

Clerkships

  • Honorable John W. Lungstrum of the U. S. District Court for the District of Kansas
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